Road drag nad scraper.



PATENTED DEC. 11, 1906. -W. L. BAKER.

ROAD DRAG AND SGRAPBR.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG.16, 1906 rah/ JliEru e, %s

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROAD DRAG AND SCRAPER.

Application filed August 16,1906. Serial lilo. 330,807.

of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road Drags and Scrapers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a drag or scraper for working wagon-roads; and the object is to provide a device which is particularly adapted for use after heavy rains, when the road would be otherwise too for the use of the wheeled muddy and wet scrapers now in common use.

The object of the invention also is to provide a machine which will be easily operated by the driver riding on the machine, so as to cut light or deep, as the occasion mayrequire, and scrape the dirt and gravel toward the center of the road.

The object of the invention is to simplify and cheapen the cost of construction and to permit the use of smaller timbers than would ordinarily be required; and a further object of the invention is to provide a machine which can be turned over and hitched to as a sled to transport it to and from the place of work.

I accomplish the objects of the invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of my complete machine in operative position. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the riding-board turned bottom side up and detached from the rest of the machine. Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of my improved machine, with the riding-board removed.

Fig. 5 is a detail,invertical section, of a roadway before same has been worked with my machine; and Fig. 6 is alike section after the roadway has been worked.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The front drag-bar 7 and the rear drag-bar 8 are preferably formed of two longitudinallyjoined sections which are united by means of the boards 9, which are made to overlap the contacting edges of the adjacent sections, and the parts are held together by means of nails, screws, or bolts 10. This spliced dragbar construction is preferable to one made of a single wide board ,for the reason that it pre- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 11, 1906.

vents checking and splitting by strain and use and exposure and also because it enables narrower pieces to be used, which, owing to the scarcity of timber, greatly cheapens the cost of construction. The reinforcements 9 also secure an additional thickness and strength for the attachment of the bolts and braces which join the front and back dragbars.

The front drag-bar 7 has the steel plate 12 along its lower front edge to act as a cuttingshoe in digging into the surface of the roadway. The lower edge of the back drag-bar 8 is not shod with metal; but as it is used only as a drag to press and harden the road-surface it is allowed to wear round by use.

Connecting the two drag-b are are the transverse bolts 14, here shown as three in number. Both ends of these bolts are threaded, and each threaded end is provided with a nut 15, which is run back far enough on the bolt to leave a sufficient portion to reach through the drag-bars, and after the insertion of the ends of the bolts through the holes in the drag-bars the bolts are held by additional outside nuts 16. Bearing-plates 17, long enough to overlap both sections of the rear drag-bar 8, are inserted between the drag-bar and the outside nuts.

18 represents diagonal braces having per forated ends through which the bolts 14 are passed to secure the braces between the dragbars for the purpose of stiffening and strengthening the structure. To prevent direct contact between the nuts and the wood of the drag-bars where same is not otherwise protected, the washers 19 are provided.

20 is a plank or board preferably having the under-side battens 21 to prevent warping and splitting, and staples 22, passing around the outside bolts 14 are driven into the battens to secure the riding-board to the ma chine. This construction permits the board to be slid longitudinally of the bolts 14, as the rider may desire to place his weight over the front drag-bar 7 or the rear bar 8, depending upon the character of the work upon the road which he is doing and the condition of the road. Where the front drag-bar is not cut in deep enough, the board is moved adjacent to that bar, so as to bring the weight of the driver standing upon the board practically above and upon the front drag-bar to force it into the roadway, and when the front bar is cutting too deep the board 20 is pushed back.

ITO

so as to bring the drivers weight over the rear drag-bar, thereby relieving the front one.

23 is an eyebolt passing through the front drag-bar 7, and 24 is the draft-chain, one end of which is made fast to the eyebolt, and the other end is fastened to the bolt 14 farthest removed from the eyebolt 23.

25 represents the whiffletrees, to which the horses are hitched. The hitch is made much closer to the bolt 23 than to the opposite end of the chain, so as to cause the drag-bars to stand oblique to the direction of travel of the horses in order to cause the loose earth and gravel to be moved automatically along the oblique face of the drag-bar.

The direction of travel of the machine will be such as to cause the dirt to be moved from the sides toward the middle of the road. By driving over the road two or, three times the uneven surface (shown in Fig. 5) will be graded to that shown in Fig. 6, in which the highest point will be at the middle of the road with a gradual slope in both directions therefrom. The action of the front drag-bar cutting into the surface of the road and of the back bar to drag over and pack the loose earth and gravel produces a proper grade with a hard and uniform surface.

The upper corners of the drag-bars 7 and 8 are beveled at one end of the machine, as shown at 27, to form sled-runners when the drag is turned over to facilitate the transportation of the machine to and from the place where itis to be used.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent 0f the United States, is

1. In a machine for the purposes specified, a pair of parallel drag-bars each formed out of two longitudinally-divided wooden pieces, said pieces being joined together by longitu dii'ially-arranged overlapping wooden pieces, means for securing the splicing-piece to the two pieces connected by it, triplicate transverse bolts connecting the drag-bars, said bolts having each of their two ends screwthreaded to receive a pair of nuts on each threaded end between which the respective drag-bars will be impinged, said bolts passing through the splicing-piece of each drag-bar and through the joint between the two pieces of each drag-bar, diagonal brace-bars con necting the transverse bolts in pairs, a cutting-plate on the outer lower face of the front drag-bar, a riding-board supported by said transverse bolts and adjustable in the direction of its own width, anda hitching-chain having its ends fastened near each of the opposite ends of the front drag-bar.

2. In a machine for the purposes specified, a pair of drag-bars each formed out of two longitudinal sections spliced together by a I third inside section, a metal shoe on the outside of the front drag-bar, transverse bolts connecting the two drag-bars, diagonal braces between each pair of bolts extending from the front to the back dragbar, a riding-board placed upon the said transverse bolts, said board having under side loops to engage the bolts and secure the board with a sliding fit to the bolts, and a draft-chain having its ends attached near the opposite ends of the front drag-bar.

3. In a machine for the a pair of drag-bars each having their top corners at the same end of the machine beveled to form sled-runners, triplicate transverse bolts connecting the two drag-bars, draftplates between the back drag-bar and the nuts on the outer ends of said triplicate bolts, a riding-board having transverse under side cleats, staples attaching the board to the transverse bolts with a loose sliding-fit thereon, diagonal brace bars connecting said transverse bolts in pairs and extending from the front drag-bar to the drag-bar at the rear, an eyebolt near one end of the front drag-bar, a draft-chain having one end attached to said eyebolt, the other end of said draft-chain being fastened near the opposite end of the front drag-bar. I In witness whereof I have hereunto set my I hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 7th dayof August, A. D. 1906.

WILLIAM L. BAKER. 'L. 8.

I/Vitnesses: J. A. MINTURN, f F. W. WOERNER.

purposes specified, I 

